Monomad - On the stairs, among light and leaves

Hello to all my friends in the Black & White Community, this is Menati again, back with a fresh story and a heartfelt photo session.
This time, I was invited into the gentle and quiet presence of Fatima — a young woman whose presence went beyond poses or expressions. She simply was. A kind of stillness settled around her as she sat among leafy shadows and the soft warmth of summer sunlight.

The light today was perfect : soft, filtered through tree branches, falling gently on her face and playing along the contours of her cheeks, resting on her patterned shirt. And what a shirt it was — not merely clothing but a vibrant part of this visual narrative. Its traditional motifs added a lyrical texture to the images, each swirl and paisley shape almost telling a story of its own.

Fatima moved through this space with ease: leaning gently on an iron railing, sitting cross-legged on a staircase, looking toward the sky with a quiet smile. At first glance, these moments seem simple — but it is exactly this simplicity that makes them valuable: moments not staged but naturally present.

In one frame, I photographed from above, letting the branches create a living frame around her as she paused on the staircase, looking back toward the camera. For me, that image summarized the entire session: the quiet presence of a person, surrounded by nature and light.

Choosing sepia over color was intentional — sepia brought a warmth and nostalgic calmness that served the mood perfectly. The interplay of shadows, fabric textures, body lines, and even the iron staircase structure came together in harmony, weaving a poetic visual story. A story about pausing, about stillness, about those moments when time seems to slow down and your eyes simply rest on “being”.

This session reminded me that the best photographs are often those that are less about careful construction and more about capturing presence — like a pause in a busy day, like standing by a window and simply feeling the sunlight on your skin.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I hope these photos bring you a similar sense of quiet and honesty.

Photography by @menati
Camera: Sony A7 III
Lens: 24-70 f/2.8 SIGMA ART DG DN